People often ask me, “How do you have the time to do all this?” I’ve answered in many different ways in the past but as I was sitting by a peaceful pond in Princeton, New Jersey on a hot summer evening I realized I hadn’t been giving an answer that was true to my feelings. Here is what I realized.

I have time to do everything I do because I am human and I am alive. Therefore, I have 24 hours in every day, which is 1,440 minutes, which is 86,400 seconds. I have 7 of these days in each week and I have 52 of those weeks in each year, as does every living human. No human being has more time or less time than others. It is not something we can buy or win. It is not something we can steal or borrow from someone else. All living humans have the exact number of minutes in a day. There is no such thing as not “having” time for something. We choose not to devote our time to do something so that we can spend our time doing something else instead. It’s a choice. Life is a choice. The choice may be conscious, or it may not be realized but it is a choice.

Maybe a better question would be, “How do you manage to accomplish and do so much with your time?” My answer to that is simple. My answer to that is something you won’t hear out of most people’s mouths. I’m going to be blunt here and I’m going to be realistic.

I choose not to waste the life I am privileged to be living. I choose to put the minutes I am fortunate to have to what I consider good use. I live on a marvelous and diverse world and I have made the conscious decision to make as much of my life as I can for myself and for the people around me.

I am human and every human is capable of being amazing if they choose to be. I have chosen to be amazing. I choose to spend my time doing things I can feel proud of, that award me a fuller life and that create a better world around me. I choose not to spend my time watching TV and playing video games. I choose not to sit around the house or the bar drinking beer. I choose not to spend my time doing drugs or smoking pot. I don’t spend a half hour to an hour each day making myself look handsome in the mirror. I don’t waste time working a job that I get nothing out of except money. I don’t waste time buying stuff I don’t need. I don’t waste time sitting around and doing nothing. I don’t own a car that takes time to maintain and results in me sitting in traffic. I don’t own a house that has constant needs. I’m not attached to all sorts of material possessions that take time to organize and maintain and keep updated. I don’t have a pet or a child to take care of and I don’t intend to. I don’t cut grass that doesn’t need to be cut and wastes fossil fuels and pollutes the planet. I don’t spend my time catching up on celebrity gossip.

I don’t need a lot of money, which means I don’t need to work to make a lot of money. The less money a human needs, the less money they need to earn, and in turn the less time they need to spend at work. Less time at work means more time for life. I don’t waste my money on all sorts of things that I don’t need. I put in my time in at school and have finished my formal education.

I keep things simple, which allots me the time to make life grand.

Instead of spending my time doing useless and mundane things I seize each day because I know I’ve only got about 30,000 of them in this life. I seize each hour because I know I’m blessed to get a hold of around 1,800,000 of them. I seize each second because I’m fortunate enough to live a life that will have 43,000,000 of them in it. I seize each moment to show others that life can be seized.

I spend my time cooking and eating healthy food. I spend my time traveling my country and the world. I spend my time outside breathing fresh air. I spend my time doing activities that are good for my body. I spend my time with friends and family. I spend my time laughing and loving. I spend my time going new places, trying new things, and meeting new people. I spend my time learning and expanding my knowledge. I spend my time helping others and spreading health and happiness. I spend my time giving back to this earth that I call home. This is what I think makes a good life and this is how I choose to spend my time.

It might seem impossible to you to live a life like this and yes it is if you have filled your life with all sorts of time wasters. To live a life this simple yet enjoyable you have to simplify your life. Get rid of unnecessary possessions that bog you down. Don’t measure your life success by money and possessions. Drop your ego and do what makes you happy not what the USA tells you to do. Ride a bike instead of a car. Make conscious decisions and practice self control. Don’t spend two hours in front of the TV each day and say you don’t have time to eat healthy or exercise. 2 hours is roughly 12% of your waking day. That’s a lot of time!

A lot can be done in one minute. A lot can be done in one hour. A lot can be accomplished in a day. Take advantage of the time you have on this incredible place we call earth. Be amazing. Create the world you want to see around you. Be marvelous. Live a life that is beyond just you. Be natural. Be you and be true to yourself.

Live simple and you will live free!

—-

This adventure is now a book! Dude Making a Difference is the exciting and inspirational story of my bike ride across the USA on a bamboo bike. Go to www.RobGreenfield.tv/Dude to get a copy or learn more about it. 100% of my proceeds are donated to environmental grassroots nonprofits!

39 comments

perfectly said. which is why i don't say "i don't have the time" and get pissed at people who do. they often don't realize they're saying "i don't choose to do that" when they say they don't have the time, and they do so out of ignorance.

Great attitude, I totally agree with you, so many people pretend to be busy to give themselves self importance! I am among those who always have time, although I have a job, family, but always find time to do what I want, share time with whom I choose! I wish there were more people like you, caring for the world around you and have so much love for life! Take care!

Thanks Rob for taking the time to us, to teach us how to manage our time, obviously not disown my choices, but surely take into consideration what you write. Thanks again for the generosity of sharing your views.

Seriously happy that you are out there moving around and doing what you do best. I agree with you and look forward to learning more from you. I thought many times on this post I wish I could hug you. I know you are successful in educating others in truth to drop the excess and unnecessary waste. 🙂

I understand what you are trying to say but this is where I get confused—-You say you are living off the grid but in actuality you are living off someone else's grid. If no one let you live off their property where would you be living where you could do all things you are doing now in your tiny house?

Agree. I have thought the same thing. It appears he lives in someone else's backyard. He states he has no bills. What about property taxes? Also – living the way he does would be impossible in Michigan with our weather. We can't all live in Southern California in someone else's backyard. Someone needs to work and have kids and build the things he uses – bike/house/computer/Internet ect.

Agree. I have thought the same thing. It appears he lives in someone else's backyard. He states he has no bills. What about property taxes? Also – living the way he does would be impossible in Michigan with our weather. We can't all live in Southern California in someone else's backyard. Someone needs to work and have kids and build the things he uses – bike/house/computer/Internet ect.

he's not telling anybody to do what he does. He' telling you to do your best to live a happy life, doing stuff you like. Nobody can choose for you the way you will live your life. You're the only one who can decide "OK, i will work less and earn more but i will do more things that i really appreciate". But if it's not the way YOU want to live your life, it's ok too. But you have to realise that if all you want to do cost a lot of money, then you will have to spend more time working. Then, it's also up to you to choose if you will spend all this time working on a job you like or a job you hate but keep because you make a lot of money with it. I also don't think i could or would like to live the extreme kind of life he's living. But still, i can find inspiration and motivation in his way of living.

If he paid someone a few hundred dollars a month and free yard maintenance and free vegetables that would be more than enough to cover the costs of living I someones back yard. I think you guys missed the point in what he's tryin to say.

Dude I grew up in hawaii and race doesn't have to do with anything on what direction you want to live your life. Here we don't judge people on race but rather their morals and character. It's money or the right people that will propell you in the right direction

I understand what Rob is trying to say. I am not telling anyone they are wrong. I am just trying to get a better understanding of what is being said. His tag line "Live simple and you will live free!" ———-needs to pertain to everything he does. If the homeowner he is living with gets cited for allowing what he knows is against county ordinances——-how is that living simple and free?

Just read stories or see ppl on TV , of many races, colors, creeds, who have made a good life for themselves, and have come from poverty, drug infested neighborhoods, have been victims of abuse of all sorts. The arguments of “white privilege ” becomes invalid. I personally know ppl of different races, etc, who have become successful in their own ways despite color or background .

I like the way you think about spending time. I agree, but if your mother had the same opinion about childs, you was not there to see the trees and flowers, to be part of the world, to breath and to let people feel good. My english is not very well to use better words. Sorry.

Condescending and patronising. Naive to assume that people are unhappy in lives that you may not choose for yoursrlf and arrogant to tell them they need to change. You can keep your life, I love mine with my work, children and multitude of other responsibilities.

Well if we all thought like you and children and animals are a waste of time, there would not be a you. also people find enjoyment from different things in life so maybe just maybe driving a car is what someone WANTS to be doing, or maybe playing video games is what someone else find important, also taking a moment to sit back and just relax without stressing about “wasting time” allows your brain time to recover.

i get your idea and its a very nice one, but we cant all live like that… someone has to clear the rubbish and someone has to make the food and someone has to make you bicycle… we cant all do whatever we want

If what u say is true about his living situation then isn’t he living free because someone else isn’t. They’re paying the bills; property taxes, utilities, etc
Kinda appears hypocritical. He’s unencumbered because someone else is encumbered. If it works for him ok but we all can’t do that. Demands r made by society. We r Stewarts of the earth and the living things upon it. Granted we need to do a better job.
I agree with some of what he say but it’s as a whole idealistic and does depend on someone else’s goodness.